Jessica's comments
(member since Feb 20, 2008)
Jessica's comments from the 50 Books A Year group.
(showing 1-20 of 95)
73: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
An Indian entrepreneur writes a letter to the Chinese Prime Minister, as the latter has announced a visit to India. This young Indian man, the White Tiger, wants to illustrate the real India, and uses the tale of his success to do so. He starts at the very beginning; he writes of his childhood, his first job, his perseverance and his ascent to the top.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I don't understand why it won an award. I found the main character/narrator irritating. He was cocky and annoying. This book was definitely a disappointment.
72: Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille
John Sutter is a lawyer living off of his wife's family fortune on the Gold Coast of Long Island. These people and their friends are snobs. John is a pompous ass who is going through a mid life crisis. He needs an adventure, a challenge. And lucky for him, this challenge moves in right next door in the form of the boss of the NY mafia. The two become aquaintances, friends, business partners, lawyer/client, rivals...
The relationship between these two men, as well as their wives is sleazy, but predictable. None of the characters are likeable or relatable. This book could have used a better editor, as it was at least 200 pages too long. The story itself was dull and uneventful. I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing really did. I've enjoyed reading Nelson DeMille in the past, but this was a big let-down. He portrays Long Island and Long Islanders well, but beyond that, the book was lacking.
71: The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
Not as good as Jodi Picoult's other books. Still enjoyable though.
When Trixie's boyfriend breaks up with her, her world falls apart. She becomes depressed and begins self-mutilating. Her mother is too busy having an affair with a student, and her father is still dealing with a traumatic event that happened during his early years in Alaska and cannot cope with his teenager's angst (it turns out this event really isn't as big of a deal as the author makes it out to be). A story of love, rape, murder and guilt.
Throughout the book, the reader will find the father's comic strips, which merge his life with Dante's Inferno. I personally don't think this was necessary. If you are a fan of Jodi Picoult, read this book. If you see it in passing, but aren't familiar with this author, read My Sister's Keeper instead.
70: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
When the narrator finds himself in the hospital’s burn unit, after a terrible car accident, he is convinced his life is over. While he should be hoping for recovery, he begins planning his suicide, which will take place the minute he is out on his own. But while he is stuck in a floating bed, going through countless surgeries, and learning to live (even if just temporarily in his mind) with the fact that he is disfigured and penis-less, he is befriended by a mental patient who claims they’ve been lovers for centuries. He believes her stories of his past, of ever-lasting love, religion and sacrifice to be ludicrous and obviously fictional, but continues to listen because he a) could use some entertainment, b) has nothing better and c) has no way of walking away on his own, even if he had something better to do. So after months of visits and stories and a deepening relationship and possibly even understanding, the nameless central character is released from the hospital into the care of his new companion, against his doctor’s orders. He will quickly find out that he is not the only one needing taking care of in his new home.
Had I known where this book was going, I would not have picked it up. But by the time I realized I wasn’t completely enjoying it, I was invested and needed to finish it. Overall, it was okay. Not great. A little long, there is quite a bit of unnecessary excess I would have trimmed. And disturbing. But okay, I suppose. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I'm giving it 3 stars because it really is right there in the middle for me.
Wait until you get to 14!!!
Somehow, my #50 ended up being My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I didn't plan on it, and was actually not looking forward to reading it (when everyone raves about something for so long, I tend to be disappointed when I finally get around to it). And it ended up being my favorite book of the year. Possibly even favorite EVER. I'm glad it turned out that way, it made reaching my goal extra special!
I first answered this question a few months ago, but have read some really good (and some really bad) books since, so I feel the need to change my answer...
Best
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Worst (that I've actually finished)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Size 12 is not fat by Meg Cabot
69: Diary of a Radical Mermaid by Deborah Smith
I won this book through GoodReads giveaways. So… THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, GOODREADS!
In the sequel to Alice at Heart, we return to Sainte’s Pointe, to the Bonavendier sisters and their entourage… A distant relative is in trouble, and needs to keep his very special nieces out of sight, before their father, a beast straight out of legends, finds them. He and the girls will be safe on the island. And they will soon have a little company…
When Molly Revere, a cane-toting, cat-loving, ex-librarian turned famous author, is confronted by some absolutely self-centered, yet glamorous lunatic who seems able to read her mind and claims they are both mermaids, she figures she’ll humor the woman and slowly back out of the room. But it doesn’t take long for Molly to get herself kidnapped and forced to live in this… well… this beautiful cottage on the beach… There she learns of her past and her present, of who she is and where she comes from. And when a hunky Scottish merman gets in her head, well this is one she doesn’t mind sharing her deepest thoughts with.
A very enjoyable book about merpeople, definitely a pleasure to read. A quick, sweet read of magical love, and lovely magic (although it almost falls in the chicklit category as well). I do recommend you read the prequel first, I think you’ll enjoy this one more.
68: Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson
Lulu (not her real name) is flying to Marrakech to work on literacy programs (not her real mission), where she will be staying with the English lover she met on a previous assignment (yes, yes, this part is true, although the Brit doesn’t know he’s Lulu’s cover). This is all very secretive, very hush-hush. And that is because Lulu is in the intelligence business. She travels under false pretenses, mingles, listens and observes. In this post-9/11 world, she’s been sent to Northern Africa to dig up information on terrorist groups and the money that funds their attacks. But she feels inadequate, and isn’t even sure what she is looking for. At the same time, she over-analyzes her relationship with the Englishman.
I enjoyed the book. It wasn’t Lulu’s spying skills, as I don’t believe those are good if even present at all. And it wasn’t the love affair with Ian, because the passion there was limited. But I enjoyed reading about Lulu’s first impressions of Marrakech, and then her second and third… I enjoyed the description of life there, as well as the landscapes, the towns, the souks, the people (both Moroccan and expatriates from France, England, America, etc…). Lulu and her entourage spend a lot of time discussion Islam and women in Islam. Some comments aren’t PC, but I don’t believe them to be offensive either. Overall, a good book. Not great, but good.
67: Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
Queen of Babble is right! Holy cow can this girl talk! She has a definite need for an editor (and so does the author, in the first part of the book).
Lizzie is on her way to England to spend some time with her ‘boyfriend’ (a young man she spent one single night with, three months ago). When she gets there, it isn’t quite the romantic affair she had imagined. No… In fact, she finds herself single, with a return ticket for weeks later, non-refundable of course. What is a girl to do, stranded in Europe for a month? Why, of course, find a French Chateau, owned by the family of a gorgeous French man, drink delicious French wine and rediscover the treasures of glamorous French fashion. But she has one big mouth, and every time she opens it, she finds a way to put her foot into it.
I’m not sure Lizzie learns much throughout her journey. And the reader definitely does not. There is no depth to this book. But it is an enjoyable read nonetheless; fun and quick. A nice break from the serious and poignant. I enjoyed her descriptions of the Chateau and the French countryside. I giggled out loud a few times. She is definitely a character. One I wanted to shake and scream SHUT UP to a few times. She’s a mixture of the typical Valley and Tyra Banks when she is over-acting (which is, yes, most of the time, but I still love her!). In person, Lizzie would most likely give me a headache. But on paper, she’s entertaining. Maybe the neurotic American Bridget Jones???
66: Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult
What happens when you find out your 5 year old child has been sexually abused? What happens when you have insider knowledge about the process it takes to convict a pedophile? This book answers those questions. When Nina Frost is put in that situation, she decides she simply cannot let her son testify at his abuser’s trial. As a prosecutor for the district attorney, she understands the judicial process, and knows how traumatic it can be on the victim, especially a young victim. But she also knows the man has to pay. So she does what every parent in this situation has thought of doing.
Another great book from Jodi Picoult. It follows the same recipe as the other, and is just as successful as the others. Another story of an illegal but not necessarily immoral act. The author thrives in these moral, ethical and just grey areas. And when you think you know where the story is going, you’ll be surprised by one of many twists. A wonderful read. I highly recommend it, as well as other Picoult books.
65: On the Loose Steele Street 7 by Tara Janzen
After discovering that his ex-lover did not die in that plane crash after feeding him to the wolves, and is actually alive and well and involved in illegal trafficking in South America, Smith Rydell is confronted with another past flame, which he as been assigned to body-guard. Honey York is still the 5th Avenue princess he spent one wild night with four months earlier. And while blackmailed into closing a deal with a South American guerilla captain and drug lord for the US government, she is really there to see her sister, the possibly pregnant nun. Smith and Honey get a little help from a new character, another drug lord who is somehow connected with SDF, Campos. It is clear that he will be back in a future book, along with the teacher from Albuquerque who found herself in this mess of blood and death; money, drugs and weapons; religion and sex.
In my opinion, this series is losing its steam. As much as I enjoyed the first few books, this one dragged on much longer than needed. There is a point when the author needs to say ‘enough!’ Tara Janzen has not. I’ll give the book two stars, because it was not terrible. It just wasn’t that good either. I will most likely pick up the next book in the collection, hoping to go back to the excitement and action of the first few. But so far, ‘loose’ doesn’t have anything on ‘crazy’.
64: Alice at Heart by Deborah Smith
Alice grew up different. She feels more at home under water, than on land. She can swim for long periods of time. The cold temperatures of an icy winter lake don’t bother her. She can ‘sing’ underwater, and hear others’ songs… And then there is her hair, which grows two inches every day. And her eating preferences, butter of all things. And the toes that she hides in her big and bulky boots! When her conception and birth embarrassed her family, they made it clear to her she was unwanted, a mistake, a freak. But when she saves the life of a drowning child, she is in turn saved herself, and introduced to a world in which she is beautiful, special, some may even say a wonder! But more importantly, in this world, she is not alone. While discovering her true self among her new family, she sees her past in a new light… And her future as well. She allows for others around her to see in that light as well.
When I found out I won a copy of Diary of a Radical Mermaid (THANKS GOODREADS!), I figured I should read its prequel. Alice at Heart was a sweet book. I enjoyed thinking of mer-folks living among us. It was a nice twist on the traditional half-human-half-fish idea. Following the different characters through their personal journeys, and seeing how they each learn from their mistakes, and struggle emotionally to balance their preconceived notions and the fantastic revelations they simply cannot deny. There was some unnecessary information at the end (I’m assuming the details in the final notes will come up in the following books, but it really was redundant in this case). A quick, enjoyable read.
63: Crazy Sweet by Tara Janzen
At the end of the last installment of the Steele Street books, Gillian aka Red Dog was tortured by a sadistic doctor in a white room. The drugs injected into her body caused amnesia. She spends the next two years tracking down the man who told the doctor which drug to use that one faithful night. But now, she’s gone too far… This time, she left her calling card. Literally. And the ex-CIA agent turned rogue is ready for the fight she has been preparing for.
At the same time, a few thousand miles away, we follow the day of a new SDF agent, Smith, who attempts to be the hero, but finds himself way over his head when the damsel in distress turns out to be packing.
Another easy read. Entertaining. Fun. Not deep in any way. This is all about guns, and cars, and sex.
62: The Pact A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
Chris and Em were destined to be together forever. Their mothers met when they were pregnant. As children, they were inseparable. Jokes about their wedding started long before their first kiss. The families were connected to each other for years. But one night, both sets of parents receive a phone call from the hospital; one of the adolescent is dead, the other claims it was a suicide pact. That one night rips the families apart, families who until then had never gone a day without spending time together.
Great book. Jodi Picoult does it again. She takes this event, a morally and legally grey area, and shows us the points of view of the different characters. A sad story of rapid teenage love, of dark secrets buried deep down, of relationships and what they can and cannot endure… I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading Jodi Picoult.
61: Size 12 is not fat by Meg Cabot
For anyone who ever wondered what would have happened to Tiffany and Debbie Gibson had they told their record label they no longer wanted to sing the cheesy teen songs in malls nationwide. Heather Wells was a teen pop star. But that all came crashing down when… she was dropped by her label after she told them she wanted to play her own songs… her mother stole all of her money and ran away with her manager… she caught her fiance with another pop star… and she gained a few pounds. So at age 28, the former star finds herself working as the Assistant Director of a dorm. When female students are found dead after allegedly elevator surfing in the residence hall, Heather doesn’t buy it because, well, girls simply don’t elevator surf! So she’s on a mission, to find the killer no one believes exists.
Honestly, don’t waste your time. This one was bad. I know, I know, we all like to read some bad novels once in a while, just like we enjoy watching bad movies from time to time. But this isn’t one of those good-bad books. This is bad-bad. As bad as it gets. I was dying to put it down after a few pages, a few chapters, but then, I simply had to know who the murderer was. Now that I know, I realize what a waste of time it was. The story was bad enough, but the writing, ugh, terrible. I could have written that. I felt like I was reading the spoken words of a teenager. Really. Don’t bother. If you need a little badness in your system, go pick up Joe Versus the Volcano at Blockbuster, good bad.
60: Crazy Love by Tara Janzen
An extremely dangerous and secretive file has resurfaced after over a decade. This could be the end of a lot of government people and agencies. The signatures on the document are very high profile. That dossier needs to disappear before it does too much damage. The Steele Street gang is on it. Specifically Dylan Hart and, after some begging and swearing, Skeeter Bang who will only be there as an observer and driver. Yeah right.
This installment has more cars and guns, less hot and heavy… Entertaining nonetheless. Definitely one of those ‘JUST DO IT ALREADY!’ If you’ve read the previous books in the series, this one is worth picking up. A quick and fun easy read.
59: Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
A newborn is found dead on an Amish farm. The young unwed mother refuses to acknowledge that she has just given birth. She won’t even admit she was ever pregnant. When the medical evidence proves her wrong, the authorities decide she was also the one who took the infant’s life, to keep her secret safe. Katie Fisher is arrested for murder.
Ellie needs a break after getting a child molester acquitted. She decides to go visit her aunt in Amish country. But when she arrives, and the unthinkable has happen, she is catapulted into the Plain lifestyle in order to represent her new client.
Another good novel by Jodi Picoult. This one was a little slower, which I think was the point, illustrating the simple and slower way of the Amish. The author did her research by living with the Amish for some time, while also using her in-depth knowledge of the law. True to form, she delivers a compelling book, with a few twists along the way (some more predictable than others).
